Denver Science Fiction & Fantasy Book Club

PANDEMONIUM
by
DARYL GREGORY
Pandemonium cover Pandemonium (2008)

cover design by David Stevenson
cover illustration by Greg Ruth
Del Rey trade paperback
283 pages (left)		  
From the back cover of the trade paperback:
       It is a world like our own in every respect...save one.  In the 1950s, random acts of possession begin to occur.  Ordinary men, women, and children are the targets of entities that seem to spring from the depths of the collective unconscious, pop-cultural avatars some call demons.  There's the Truth, implacable avenger of falsehood.  The Captain, brave and self-sacrificing soldier.  The Little Angel, whose kiss brings death, whether desired or not.  And a string of others, ranging from the bizarre to the benign to the horrific.
       As a boy, Del Pierce is possessed by the Hellion, an entity whose mischief-making can be deadly.  With the help of Del's family and a caring psychiatrist, the demon is exorcised...or is it?  Years later, following a car accident, the Hellion is back, trapped inside Del's head and clamoring to get out.
       Del's quest for help leads him to Valis, an entity possessing the science fiction writer formerly known as Philip K. Dick; to Mother Mariette, a nun who inspires decidedly unchaste feelings; and to the Human League, a secret society devoted to the extermination of demons.  All believe that Del holds the key to the plague of possession - and its solution.  But for Del, the cure may be worse than the disease.

Read for group discussion on December 10, 2008
RATINGS:
How we each rated this book
Dan - Amy 8 stack of books 10   Wow! Don't miss it
8-9  Highly recommended
7    Recommended
5-6  Mild recommendation
3-4  Take your chances
1-2  Below average; skip it
0    Get out the flamethrower!
U    Unfinishable or unreadable
-    Skipped or no rating given
Cheri 8 Barb -
Aaron 8 Cynthia -
Jackie 8 Ron 9
Jennifer 9.5
Bibliography:
Daryl Gregory is an American fantasy and science fiction writer.

Awards:
2009 Crawford Award for new fantasy writer for Pandemonium

--Pandemonium (2008) is his first novel

Links:
Aaron's review of Pandemonium on Fantastic Reviews
Aaron's interview with Daryl Gregory on Fantastic Reviews
Daryl Gregory, Writer Guy Home Page
The Next Weird Thing: PW Talks with Daryl Gregory
Strange Horizons Reviews: Two Views: Pandemonium by Daryl Gregory
SF Signal: REVIEW: Pandemonium by Daryl Gregory
SCI FI Weekly | Pandemonium | Book Reviews

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 This page was last updated February 19, 2009